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Jul 29, 2023

Raccoon facts: size, diet, habitat

Learn all about the raccoon, from size and diet to how they became slick city dwellers, including one enterprising individual who scaled a 25-storey Minnesota high-rise The common raccoon is North

Learn all about the raccoon, from size and diet to how they became slick city dwellers, including one enterprising individual who scaled a 25-storey Minnesota high-rise

The common raccoon is North America's most numerous mammal and is famed as a nuisance! It belongs to the Procyonidae family and its nearest relatives includes the coati.

Before the urbanisation of North America, raccoons scampered mainly through deciduous woodland. With much of their former habitat gone, these excellent climbers began denning in attics instead, even in city centres. In 2018, one enterprising raccoon went viral by scaling a 25-storey Minnesota high-rise. After its 20-hour ascent, streamed live, the animal was rescued on the roof.

Intelligent, omnivorous, adaptable, nimble with their hands... raccoons share so many human traits, no wonder they feel at home in our built environment.

The 5kg bandit-masked carnivores are regarded as the ultimate urban pest by many North Americans. Not only do the ‘trash pandas’ tip over wheelie bins and dig up flowerbeds in search of food, but those dextrous digits can also raid backyard birdfeeders, pinch ornamental carp from ponds, open fridge doors in unattended kitchens and filch picnics in parks. Toronto – which has been called the raccoon capital of the world – spent US$24 million on a ‘moonshot’ bid to design a raccoon-resistant bin. Yep, you guessed right: the raccoons cracked it.

Including the Head and body raccoons are between 40–65cm long; tail: the fabulous tail adds another 20–40cm. They weigh between 4–10kg.

Raccoons are medium-sized mammals with a chubby, pear-shaped body. They are grey and ‘grizzled’ overall, with a black ‘bandit’s mask’ across the eyes, white patches on the forehead and muzzle, and a rusty tinge to the shoulders. The long, bushy tail has four to seven dark bands.

Almost anything goes for raccoons - they're not picky! Common food items include maize, grain, nuts, fruit, insects, spiders, worms, crustaceans, fish, frogs, birds, rodents, carrion and human refuse.

Female can be sexually mature in her first spring; male plays no part in raising the family. Young are usually born in April, after a gestation of 63–65 days; typical litter size is two to five. Kits, born blind and deaf, are weaned by 16 weeks.

Up to five years in the wild; up to 16 years in captivity.

Native to North America, the raccoon has been widely introduced: its non-native range includes Germany, eastern France, Austria, Russia and Japan.

Originally found in forests and marshes and beside rivers, lakes, streams and coasts; raccoons now also thrives in urban areas.

Raccoons may have increased adaptive abilities in response to novel situations, and the cognitive demands of urban settings might be responsible for recent claims that city raccoons solve the same problems (such as opening rubbish bins) faster than their rural counterparts. This is unsurprising given the problem-solving abilities demonstrated by other urban species, such as coyotes and bullfinches.

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